Adjustable door hinge



May 26, 1964 H. HILFIKER ADJUSTABLE noon HINGE I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 7

Filed Dec. 4, 1961 y 1964 H. HILFIKER 3,134,133

ADJUSTABLE. DOOR HINGE May 26, 1964 H. HlLFlKER ADJUSTABLE nooa HINGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 4, 1961 Fig.5

Fig. 7

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United States Patent 3,134,133 ADEUSTAELE DOOR HINGE Hans Hiiiiher, Kiichberg, Zurich, Switzerland, assiguor to Therma A.G., Schwanden, Giarus, Switzerland Filed Dec. 4, 1961, Ser. No. 156,694 Claims priority, application Switzerland Dec. 6, 1%0 8 (llaims. (Ci. id-12?) The present invention relates to door hinges and, in particular, to an adjustable door hinge for a cupboard or cabinet, comprising a hinge guide element fixed to the cupboard casing and a further hinge element supported by a mounting element and engaging the hinge guide element, said further hinge element being provided with adjusting members operative to change the position of the door relatively to the cupboard casing.

Usually, when a door is attached to a cupboard, the door hinges are fixed in a determined position with respect to the cupboard casing. It is then difficult and only possible in a limited degree to change the position of the door. Particularly with cupboards of large front surfaces and divided in several sections having a plurality of doors disposed at small distances from each other, it is not possible, or only at a great expenditure of time, to adjust the positions of the doors so that all door interspaces will be equal and uniform. Moreover, during the use of a cupboard, a certain displacement of the doors may be produced which requires a readjustment. The fixing of the hinges to the cupboard requires a considerable amount of work, as the positioning of the door with respect to the cupboard must be determined in three directions. This is carried out in the easiest way with hinges which are fixed on the front surface of the cupboard. The fact that a portion of the hinge is protruding from the front surface of the cupboard or, if the mounting is countersunk, the additional work required represents a drawback. It is difficult to fix the hinges to an inner surface of the cupboard, because in fixing the hinges, the door must be kept open so that the closed door position in the moment of fixing or" the door cannot be checked.

Several types of adjustable door hinges are known which only permit an adjustment in a single direction horizontally or vertically. Known hinges which allow for adjustment in two directions are very complicated and expensive. The hinge parts are adjustable along slots and are fixed by screws in the adjusted position.

Other hinge constructions are provided with adjustment means which are visible from the outside when the door is closed, resulting in an unfavorable appearance of the cupboard. Adjustable hinges which protrude from the cupboard casing or from the door are disadvantageous, as a joining of several similar cupboards at a small distance one from the other is then not possible. Other known hinge structures allow for adjustment in two directions; however, in order to effect an adjustment the doors must be removed from the cupboard.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved adjustable door hinge which avoids the above mentioned drawbacks. According to the invention, the door hinge comprises a tubular hinge guide member, a movable hinge part having a section penetrating into said guide member, said section having an enlarged front portion, a front screw engaged in the hinge part to adjustably support the hinge part in vertical direction relatively to said guide member, a rear screw engaged in said hinge part and coacting with said enlarged front portion for adjustably supporting said hinge part in horizontal direction relatively to said guide member, the two adjusting screws being accessible from the inside of the cupboard or cabinet through openings provided in said guide member ice for effecting a horizontal and/or vertical adjustment of the hinge part.

This structure permits to bring the door during its mounting and any time afterwards into the correct position with respect to the cupboard casing, and to adjust the spacing of adjacent doors when a cupboard front is provided with a plurality of doors.

The novel features of the invention together with further of its advantages will become apparent from the several embodiments thereof shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of a cupboard front having seven doors;

FIGURE 2 a plan view of an adjustable hinge according to the invention;

FIGURE 3 a sectional view on the line IIIIII of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 a side view of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 a sectional view of the mounting of an adjustable hinge of thin-walled cupboards;

FIGURE 6 a sectional view of the mounting of an adjustable hinge on thick-walled cupboards, and

FIGURE 7 a sectional view of the mounting of an adjustable hinge without screws in thick-walled eupboard corners.

FIGURE 1 of the drawings represents a cupboard front having seven doors 1 which are mounted by means of hinges to the cupboard or cabinet casing, uniform spaces 2 being provided between the edges of adjacent doors. The axes of the hinges are designated by *3 and the door handles by 4. The portion D of FIGURE 1 is shown in greater detail in FIGURES 2 to 7.

According to FIGURES 2 to 4, a prismatic tubular hinge member 7 is provided with two studs 8 which are received in appropriate bores 9 of the cupboard floor 6. The member 7 is also fixed by means of a screw 10 to the cupboard side wall 5. A hinge part '11 extends into the tubular guide member. The outside dimension of the main portion of this hinge part which in the present em bodiment has a square cross section, which extends into the tubular member is smaller than the internal dimension of the member 7, so that there is a clearance between the hinge part and the member 7. The front end of the part 11 which is outside the member 7 carries the door 1 by means of a hinge pin 3. The hinge part 11 is retained in the member 7 by a spring clamping pin 12 which is clamped in a hole of the hinge part 11 and engages slots 12' of the guide member 7 in such a manner that the hinge part 11 is adjustable in horizontal and in vertical direction. The portion of the hinge part 11 within the guide member 7 and adjacent the front end thereof is enlarged as at so that it engages the internal wall of the guide member 7 in one direction and has a dimension less than the internal dimension of the guide member 7 in a direction perpendicular to said one direction. A vertical screw 13 is screwed into the enlarged front portion 11a of the section of the hinge part liextending into the guide 7, and a horizontal screw 14- is screwed into the rear end of the hinge part if. The vertical screw 13 in this embodiment is perpendicular to the said one direction in which the enlargement 11a extends, and the horizontal screw 14 is perpendicular to the vertical screw 13. The length of these screws 13, 14- corresponds to the inner dimension of the tubular guide member 7, so that they rest with both their end faces against opposite walls of the guide member 7. When turning one or the other of the two screws, a corresponding movement of the hinge part 11 will result and accordingly an adjustment of the position of the hinge pin 3 can be obtained. Each screw 13, 14 has an inner hexagon 15, or a screw driver slot which is accessible through a hole 15a in the hinge guide member 7 by means of a hexagonal wrench or a screw driver. In order to lock the screws 13, 14 against any undesired rotation, two elastic pins 16 are clamped in a hole of the hinge part 11 and pressed against the circumference of the screws as shown in FEGURES 3 and 4.

The hinge shown in FIGURES 2 to 4 permits the fixing and the adjustment of a door as follows:

The studs 8 of the hinge guide member 7 are introduced into appropriate holes 9 of the cupboard and the screw 10 is screwed into the side wall 5. Thus, two hinge guide members 7 are fixed, one to a lower and one to an upper corner of the cupboard casing. Then the hinge parts 11 are mounted on the cupboard door 1 by introducing the hinge pins 3. The screws 13 and 14 are already screwed into the hinge part 11. Thereupon, the two hinge parts 11 mounted at the top and the bottom of the door are pushed into the corresponding hinge guide members 7. The spring clamping pin 12 retaining the hinge part 11 in the guide member 7 is then inserted. Now it is possible to adjust the door 1 with respect to the cupboard casing in vertical direction by a turning of the screw 13 and in horizontal direction by turning the screw 14. Thus, when mounting a plurality of doors to a cupboard front as shown in FIGURE 1, the distance 2 between the doors can be adjusted to be uniform for the entire cupboard front. The mounting of the doors in this manner is very easy and can be obtained at low cost. As shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3, the hinge guide member 7 is symmetrical with respect to its vertical median plane, thus making it possible to use the same hinge guide member in the upper or in the lower part as well as at the left or at the right side of the cupboard. If two hinges are used for each door it is possible, in order to facilitate the adjustment, to introduce a vertical screw 13 only into one of the two hinges.

FIGURE 5 shows the fixing of a hinge guide member 7 in a thin-walled cupboard casing. The studs 8 are not longer than the wall thickness of the cupboard floor 6. Further, a boss 5' is provided in the wall 5 into which the screw is screwed in such a manner that it does protrude from the cupboard casing. No spring pin is provided for locking the screws 13 and 14, but the screws are somewhat longer than the inner diameter of the tubular hinge guide member 7. The screws are elastically clamped in the assembled state between two opposite side walls of the tubular guide member, thus avoiding the screws from being accidentally turned.

FIGURE 6 shows the fixing of a hinge guide member 7 to a relatively thick side wall 5 of the cupboard. The studs 8 engage holes 9 of the side walls, and two fastening screws 10 are screwed into the side wall.

FIGURE 7 shows the fixing of a hinge guide member 7 to a thick-walled cupboard corner without using screw means. The studs 8 are driven by force into appropriate holes 9 of the wall 6 and retained therein by a frictional engagement.

For retaining the hinge part 11 in the hinge guide member 7 a screw or a cotter pin may also be used instead of the spring pin 12.

I claim:

1. An adjustable door hinge structure, particularly for cupboards, cabinets and the like, consisting essentially of a tubular hinge guide member, a hinge part extending into said tubular guide member and having an outside dimension less than the internal dimension of said tubular member, said hinge part having a front end outside said tubular guide member and adapted to have a hinge pin mounted thereon, a first screw extending in one direction across said tubular guide member through said hinge part adjacent one end of said tubular member, and a second screw extending in a second direction which is perpendicular to said one direction across said tubular guide member through said hinge part adjacent the other end of said tubular member, one of said directions being horizontal and the other being vertical, and said tubular member having two apertures therein, one aligned with each screw, through which access is gained to said screws for rotating them for adjusting said hinge part horizontally and vertically.

2. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said tubular member is of elastic material and said screws have a length greater than the internal dimension of said tubular member, whereby the ends of the screws are held tightly by said tubular member against rotation until they are positively turned.

3. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for holding said hinge part in said guide member, said hinge part having an aperture therein and said means being an elongated member extending through said aperture and through said tubular member.

4. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for securing said tubular member to the structure on which the hinge structure is to be mounted.

5. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said securing means are screws.

6. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said securing means are studs on said tubular member adapted to extend into holes in the structure on which said hinge structure is to be mounted.

7. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said securing means comprise studs on said tubular member adapted to extend into holes in a surface on the structure on which said hinge structure is to be mounted, and means adapted to secure said tubular member to a wall perpendicular to said surface with the holes in it.

8. An adjustable door hinge structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said tubular guide member and said hinge part are symmetrical with respect to a vertical medial plane through them in the assembled position, whereby said hinge structure can be placed at the top or bottom or on the right or left side of a structure on which the hinge structure is to be mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,725,589 Papesh Dec. 6, 1955 2,812,539 Lundell Nov. 12, 1957 3,015,126 Ahlgren Jan. 2, 1962 3,042,961 Tieri July 10, 1962 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE DOOR HINGE STRUCTURE, PARTICULARLY FOR CUPBOARDS, CABINETS AND THE LIKE, CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A TUBULAR HINGE GUIDE MEMBER, A HINGE PART EXTENDING INTO SAID TUBULAR GUIDE MEMBER AND HAVING AN OUTSIDE DIMENSION LESS THAN THE INTERNAL DIMENSION OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, SAID HINGE PART HAVING A FRONT END OUTSIDE SAID TUBULAR GUIDE MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO HAVE A HINGE PIN MOUNTED THEREON, A FIRST SCREW EXTENDING IN ONE DIRECTION ACROSS SAID TUBULAR GUIDE MEMBER THROUGH SAID HINGE PART ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, AND A SECOND SCREW EXTENDING IN A SECOND DIRECTION WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID ONE DIRECTION ACROSS SAID TUBULAR GUIDE MEMBER THROUGH SAID HINGE PART ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, ONE OF SAID DIRECTIONS BEING HORIZONTAL AND THE OTHER BEING VERTICAL, AND SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING TWO APERTURES THEREIN, ONE ALIGNED WITH EACH SCREW, THROUGH WHICH ACCESS IS GAINED TO SAID SCREWS FOR ROTATING THEM FOR ADJUSTING SAID HINGE PART HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY. 